Heir to the Everlasting

Staten Bay #2

by Janice Daugharty

The Pulitzer-nominated author of EARL IN THE YELLOW SHIRT turns her acclaimed talents to an epic story of three generations of Southern women at Big Eddy, the home place they love. HEIR TO THE EVERLASTING begins at the turn of the last century with the beautiful, determined Pinkie Alexander, strong-willed matron of the Alexander clan. Come Hell or the high water of the south Georgia river which gave Big Eddy its name, Pinkie will ensure the survival of her family on their beloved land--a place where the family cemetery guards the spirit of the past, and where secrets, as well as the dearly departed, are buried.

Follow the lives, loves, mysteries, deadly feuds and steely courage of the Alexander women through a full century of joys and sorrows. HEIR TO THE EVERLASTING showcases the culture, language and daily travails of their time and place with vivid storytelling skills and Janice Daugharty's love for "the working words."

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Christian Fiction, Ebooks, Christian, Historical, Southern

364 pages, Paperback

First published February 4, 2011

About the author

Back on Goodreads and back to writing, and hopefully publishing.
I need my fans, old and new, to boost my confidence, as I start over again.
The reason for my long absence can be chalked up to...well, life!
I have a large family and most live on our property, in South Georgia, Cow Creek Farm. No, we don't farm, and no, we no longer have cows. The name is derived from a creek called "Cow" that flows through our property.
OK, enough about me. I want to hear about you--what you're reading, maybe writing. Or just what you are doing nowadays.
Love, Janice

Reviews

[Robyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish it. No descriptions, very dry and I didnt understand what was going on half the time.

[Marty · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I really liked the first half of this book, I found the last part just pain boring. The first part moved along and was interesting in that it dealt with life in southern Georgia around the turn of the last century.
This is a story of the strong women of one family and ending with a great granddaughter. Life in the rural south is not always kind or easy especially during this time frame. The story was rich and well written, but by the end I was glad it was over as it seemed to get lost and go on and on with no real ending. I also found the story about the granddaughter a bit much and hard to believe - and too all the endless talk of fishing.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars

Rural life in Georgia throughout the 20th century is vividly portrayed through one woman. May or little Pinkie tells her story and that of an entire culture in an unflinchingly honest manner. A worthwhile read for the history fans among us.

[Gabby-Lily Raines]

(Received Review Copy from Publisher)

4.5 / 5

I enjoyed reading Heir to the Everlasting and the glimpse it provided into the lives of the Alexander family. For this reader, the touchstone of the story is Big Eddy, the family plantation, and May Alexander Wetherington is the keystone.

Big Eddy is the touchstone because that is the family "seat" and makes the rest of the story possible. It is the kind of place that embodies the phrase "if only these walls could talk," although, in this case, it's if only the walls and the land could talk. Through the lives of Pinkie (May's grandmother), May and Sara Ann (May's granddaughter), how they carry on and make their lives better - and sometimes worse - and keep their heads up in spite of troubles and tribulations is a story that I believe many readers can relate to.

May Alexander Wetherington is the keystone of the story. While Heir to the Everlasting is as much Pinkie's and Sara Ann's story as it is May's, the book is a tale of her growing up on Big Eddy, growing older, marrying, having children, but always coming back to the family home, and seeing what she can do for her own granddaughter as Pinkie did for her.

The heart of the story is love. Love of family, love of the land, and simply love of life - even if it may be a bygone thing. It is also a story of relationships - how they define us, how we define them, the blind spots they may cause us and how they make us stronger.

A wonderful book that I would recommend to anyone who likes a good story that doesn't necessarily deliver a happy ending, but a fitting one for the tale it tells.

(Cross-posted to Librarything, Lily's Reviews, Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble)

[Andrea Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heir to the Everlasting is a book set in southern Georgia and spans the twentieth century. The main character is May Alexander and the book basically tells her life story in two parts. The first half of the book details May's life and relationship with her maternal grandmother who is known as Pinky. Pinky is a high spirited,independent, non-traditional, take-charge woman. May is raised by her grandmother following her mother's death and becomes like a little shadow always close at her grandmother's heels, and so she is known as Little Pinky for much of her youth. The second half of the book surrounds the relationship of an adult May and her granddaughter Sara Ann, whom she is raising.

The first half of the book is filled with lots of characters and I found it hard to keep track of all of them and their relationships to others. At times the book was fast moving only to turn almost deathly slow in sections. The long time period the book spanned was another difficult thing to get used to but I found it interesting to see how the life of May changed so much in her lifetime of almost 100 years.

If you enjoy historical fiction or southern literature you should give this book a try. I found it to be a very unique read.

[Norma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This richly detailed book covered several generations of strong women in the Alexander family. The story is set on a plantation “Big Eddy” in Southern Georgia. The plantation seems as much alive as the people.

There were times when the reading seemed to drag on a little bit, but then it would pick back up again. It reminded me of a course of a river. Where in some spots it seemed to trickle slowly then at other times it was gushing.

This was definitely an interesting book. It did take me quite a while to get through it though. And in all honesty, those slow spots were a major deterrent for me. I don’t mind slower books. This one just seemed to move a little to slow for me in spots.

In conjunction with the Wakela’s World Disclosure Statement, I received a product in order to enable my review. No other compensation has been received. My statements are an honest account of my experience with the brand. The opinions stated here are mine alone.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Family means something different to every person. The strings that bind us to others vary in strength, length, and color, but they pull us to some extent, nonetheless. In pullitzer nominated author Janice Daughtery's Heir To the Everlasting, we see the ties between the strong women of the Alexander family throughout their century long reign. Through marriages, deaths, births, trials, and triumphs, the women at Big Eddy continue on with a love and strength that not only allows them to continue on through life but to also stand for what they believe despite what society or the men in the family say. While the second half of the book meandered and dragged a bit, the beautifully rich characters and story in the first half carried teh book through to the end.

Disclaimer: A copy of the book was provided by the publisher

[Janet Pedersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delight! This is the story of a family in the deep south throughout the 20th century. From Pinkie, the matriarch of the family, through her sons, her granddaughter Little Pinkie (aka "Hon", the name she goes by throughout adulthood) and Hon's own granddaughter, we meet amazingly well-written characters whose quirks, surprises, and peccadillos are both hilarious and utterly accurate. This was a book hard to put down, and hard to put away when I was done. I couldn't recommend it more highly.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but wouldn't necessarily run out to buy another one by Ms. Daugharty. The characters were colorful, but the story line was a bit disjointed. I kept waiting for a transformation of some kind to occur for her characters, but there was not a lot that got resolved for them. Historically, however, it was interesting to follow the family and the matriarchs who held them together. Overall, a good summer read.

[Nae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just about one of the best, best books I have read in a darn long time. The women in this book could have been from my family, my husband's family, they felt so darn familiar to me. I doubt any woman could read this book without seeing some part of themselves in these women. It doesn't hurt, either, that it, almost literally, takes place in one of my back pastures by description if not in reality.

[Melanie Earles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the book a little slow at first, but then the longer I read it the more I got into the characters. The author has created a very realistic view of an old Southern Plantation in the early twentieth century. The story then flashes forward to the same plantation in the 1970's. It's a very interesting read and you come to care for the characters even if they main character is not very much like me at all.

[Rosemary Cantrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this novel - about generations of strong southern women. Pinkie, her granddaughter May and her granddaughter Sara Ann and their ties to the family plantation. There is a lot about life and living within the story of these three women. Not the least, it is from the women of a family that the strength really comes. I highly recommend this story about the joys, hardships, heartaches and dreams of these women.

[Marilyn Chilcote · Rating 5 out of 5]

initially I was going to get this a foreign a half star rating, because there were places where it seemed to go a little slow for me. I think that probably had more to do with fatigue – because by the time I got to the end I was simply stunned by the writing. This would be great for reading group; great for a second read which is when I usually find the most significance in the book anyway.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had a very difficult time following the format of this book. After the first thirty percent, I started enjoying the book, somewhat. It was very rich in detail, sometimes to the point of being confusing. If you enjoy the history of early south Georgia then you might enjoy this book. Just be prepared to put on your rubber boats so you can wade through the first part of this book.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful story. Describes the life of May Alexander born at the turn of the century on a large family farm in southern Georgia. It's a story of family, independent women and the men behind them, and of loyalty to a set of inherent values and love of home. One of the best books I've ever read! Highly recommended to lovers of southern fiction!

[Joanne Rollins Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heir to the Everlasting

Pinkie is a unconventional woman for her time a who raises her granddughter while managing a large plantation. As the storyline continues the granddaughter repeates the same situation by raising her son's daughter. A story in we're life is repeated crossed generations. An easy read, entertaining.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very disjointed; it was several chapters before I could figure out the identities of certain characters. The book didn't seem to have a smooth transition from chapter to chapter; at times it was hard to tell which era we were in at the beginning of the chapter. I loved the story line but towards the end it seemed to drag on and on.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Follows a post-modern format so chronology was a problem for me. I was never sure what was happening when. There were also lots of characters to keep straight. The main character was interesting and her relationship to her grandmother (who was around 40) was interesting.

[M.A. Lomascolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got a bit worn out in the early section of the book. The child's perspective grew tedious for me. I was hoping for more from the get-go, and was disappointed, so it was hard for me to give the book a chance.

[Becky Arundale · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thorough telling of an interesting time in history in the rural south. I especially enjoyed that the story focused on one woman's life throughout her entire life, I think this provided interesting perspective on womanhood, aging, and how ideals change.

[Jenn · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. I could not get into this one. The multiple names for single characters was confusing enough, but some of the names were the same for multiple characters too. I just don't care enough about this to try and muddle through, so I give up.

[Misfit]

Free on kindle right now if anyone is interested.

[Jeni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow at times, and hard for me to get into. I had a hard time staying interested but it was at parts a good read.

[Michelle Boyapati · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love free books on Kindle. Set in rural Georgia, this story was a look into the main character's life. It lost momentum a few times, but it was worth reading (and the price).

[Ivy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like I'll never get that 10 hours of my life back.

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I'm from the area she rights about. I think many South Georgia families can relate.

[Audrey Grant · Rating 1 out of 5]

Three generations of proud, willful women who do what they want no matter who it hurts or how it effects anyone except each other, not even their own husbands and kids.
AWFUL BOOK

[Jennifer Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love free Kindle books. This one was a richly detailed story of 3 generations of women in rural Georgia. It did lose momentum a few times, I found the first half to be the best.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first half of the book once I got past the first few chapters. Almost too many characters to keep them all straight. The second half of the book just dragged for me.

[Mary Seely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Amazon free download. I like historical fiction and stories that tell about several generations of one family.